The Road to Reform

2011: Nearly $1 Billion in Road, Bridge Investments

Governor Deval Patrick joined state and local officials at the Dorchester Avenue reconstruction project at Glover’s Corner in Dorchester to announce that the 2011 road and bridge construction effort will invest $931 million in road and bridge repair projects, creating thousands of jobs and improving our infrastructure.

The 2011 road and bridge funds administered by MassDOT build on previous record annual investments and are nearly double the amount spent in 2007. The annual construction program includes approximately 450 projects, including 300 active construction projects and 150 maintenance projects.

"We are literally building a legacy of investing for the future in communities across the Commonwealth," said Governor Patrick.

The $15.6 million Dorchester Avenue project is reconstructing the busy Dorchester Avenue corridor at 15 intersections, with major road, traffic signal, and sidewalk crossing improvements. The project began in 2010 and is on time and on budget, with completion expected in fall 2012.

Fiscal 2011's statewide $931 million capital program includes $550 million in the Statewide Road and Bridge Program, $208 million in the Administration's historic Accelerated Bridge Program, and $173 million in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment funds.

The Accelerated Bridge Program (ABP) is an unprecedented investment in reducing the number of structurally deficient bridges in Massachusetts. Already, the program has reduced the number of structurally deficient bridges from 543 to 458, a cut of more than 15%. Forty two ABP projects are complete, 69 are in progress, and 28 are scheduled to begin this year.

Among the other major projects under construction in 2011:

• The $57.5 million Great River Bridge project in Westfield, with a new bridge over the Westfield River and reconstruction of the existing historic bridge.
• The $36.8 million innovative "Design-Build" I-495 Bridge Bundle project in Lowell and Tewksbury.
• The Charles River Basin bridge projects, including the Craigie Drawbridge and rehabilitation of the historic Longfellow Bridge.
• The $35 million Neponset River Bridge Phase II project in Quincy.
• The $28.1 million reconstruction of the Hadley Overpass carrying Route 8 over the Hoosic River in North Adams.
• The "93Fast14" project to replace 14 bridge structures along I-93 in Medford, with all major work during weekends only in summer 2011.

Celebrate Bay State Bike Week May 14-20

Governor Deval Patrick encouraged residents to join their neighbors and try bicycling during Bay State Bike Week, May 14-20, a week devoted to celebrating bicycle transportation. Thousands of Massachusetts residents, commuters, and families will celebrate Bay State Bike Week, bicycling at hundreds of events in every region of the Commonwealth.

Last year, MassDOT became the first state DOT in the nation to organize and lead a statewide Bike Week celebration, working in partnership with the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike), and MassRIDES, the Commonwealth’s statewide travel options program.

This year, MassDOT, MassBike, and MassRIDES is building on the successful 2010 effort and the long history of local Bike Week celebrations across the Commonwealth to broaden the scope of Bike Week events.

Bay State Bike Week supports GreenDOT, a comprehensive environmental responsibility and sustainability initiative of MassDOT. GreenDOT calls for MassDOT to incorporate sustainability into all of its activities, from strategic planning to project design and construction to system operation. GreenDOT includes greenhouse gas reduction targets mandated under the Global Warming Solutions Act, signed by Governor Patrick in 2008. This law requires an economy-wide 2020 emissions reduction mandate of 25 percent, the first step toward a required 80 percent reduction by 2050

The Healthy Transportation Compact is an inter-agency consortium established by the 2009 Transportation Reform Law. The Compact is led by MassDOT, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and promotes healthy lifestyles through transportation system design and operations that facilitate walking, bicycling, and other active transportation modes.

A strong commitment to bicycle and pedestrian travel is a key part of MassDOT's transportation vision. Learn more about Bay State Bike Week and current bicycling projects at www.mass.gov/massdot/bike

MassDOT June Public Meeting

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation Board of Directors will hold its next regular public business meeting on Wednesday, June 8, 1:00pm, MBTA Board Room, Suite 3910, State Transportation Building, Boston.

The MBTA Board will meet first at 1pm, followed by the MassDOT Board. All meetings are open to the public.

The meeting schedule is available on the MassDOT website.